Riverside

Updated September 2020

Wagga Wagga City Council’s Riverside Strategic Master Plan was released in 2010 with the intention of reinforcing the relationship between the Murrumbidgee River and the City. Stage 1 ($1.02M) of the Riverside Redevelopment was completed in 2015 and consisted of a facelift to the Wagga Beach area as part of a process to turn “The Bend’ into an iconic destination for Wagga Wagga.

Stage 2 of the Riverside Redevelopment will connect the Wagga Wagga Beach and Wiradjuri Walking Track to the broader precinct, incorporating the former St Michael’s School Oval and the former Wagga Wagga Caravan Park.

Wagga Wagga City Council commenced site clearing for Stage 2 of the project in April 2020. The $6.7M budget to implement the Riverside Stage 2 Plan is funded by the NSW Government ($5M) and Wagga Wagga City Council ($1.7M). Tenders for construction have closed and Council is currently considering design capabilities and the project budget. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

Stage 2 of the project will include food and beverage outlets, event spaces, a water and adventure playground, improved pedestrian accessibility from the central business area across Tarcutta Street and will strengthen the precincts appeal to both the community and visitors to the city. 

The Plan document for Stage 2 addresses the following design strategies and themes:

Strategies

• Celebrate the local heritage

• Respond to the Riverside Park as a major civic place

• Provide opportunity for a range of cultural, recreational, social & leisure and environmental events & activities to take place

Themes

• Generate a monumental sense of ‘Place’

• Create a destination which befits the iconic location & history with Wagga Wagga

• Be optimistic and playful with distinct landscape themes

• Facilitate opportunities for passive, active, programmed and un-programmed activities

• Connect the park to the city and be accessible to all

Background

The Murrumbidgee River is a vital community asset and the recommendations outlined in the 2010 Riverside Master Plan are arguably the most important to the city’s culture and social fabric.

The Riverside Strategic Master Plan was developed in 2010 and Council committed over $1M undertaking landscaping and amenity improvements to the Wagga Beach area as part of stage 1. The improvements demonstrated the strong demand for more quality open spaces and evidenced the community’s desire to reconnect and utilise the river. Since Stage 1 completion the space has been activated by a number of successful community events and gained very positive feedback from both residents and visitors to the city. For example, Borambola Wines hosted the Cork and Fork Festival at the beach area following the completion of Stage 1 and attracted strong, vibrant crowds of approximately 4,000 people.

Council has taken important steps to enable implementation of Stage 2 of the Master Plan, resolving to end the Wagga Beach Caravan Park lease in 2019. The Caravan Park site is identified as under-utilised land due to its proximity to the central business area and can be better transformed into a large community space used for general recreation, festivals and events on a village green.

Committee 4 Wagga members have identified festivals and events as the most important cultural activity in the city. Currently, events such as Wagga Live, Gears and Beers, Fusion and the Wagga Food and Wine Festival have the capacity to grow and attract more visitors however the space available in the civic centre is restrictive and expensive to manage. 

Over 4,000 people attended the Cork and Fork event at the beach immediately following the stage 1 project.